Guest Blog: How to Plan a Proper Christmas with Healthy Meals

Plan your Christmas party and menu three or four weeks in advance to cut stress, create delicious healthy meals, and make the holidays enjoyable and relaxing. You can spread the chores over the weeks leading to Christmas and tick off your to-do lists day by day and one by one. One thing you want to get out of the way is the menu plan for the special day. In addition to Christmas dinner, you may also need to prepare special healthy recipes for Christmas day and the following days leading up to the New Year. Determine how many people you will be serving for which meals and find out if anyone has special dietary needs and particular dislikes.

To keep a tight budget, plan to have leftovers that can be used for the next day or the following days as a basis for a new meal. You can turn most dishes into healthy food like sandwiches, salads, soups, or casseroles, for example. You can also plan dishes that you can prepare days in advance and freeze without losing quality and flavor. This way, the less you will need to do on the big day itself.

Decide on a theme for the party, whether it is a type of cuisine, whether you are leaning towards traditional or contemporary, and what kind of colors, motif, and ambiance you are aiming towards. Plan the table settings and decorations ahead and list down all that you need for the occasion including silverware, glassware, china, tablecloth, napkins, serving plates, salad bowls, candelabra, candles, flower vase, flowers, centerpieces, and so on.

Write a timeline and to-do list of all the tasks you need to do such as shopping, organizing, gift- wrapping, and cooking. Divide the tasks into those that can be done in advance and those that need to be done on the day itself. Spread the shopping over the few weeks to stay on budget and beat the rush.

My name is Katy Cavallero from Toronto, ON Canada and a part time photographer. Being a good photographer is definitely not easy. I also joined the staff of a business magazine which was based in London and became a corporate photographer. During free time, I create blogs and post contents related to foods. It is my pleasure to share valuable information, knowledge and tips to this blog community.